Esther Cepeda, a Washington Post columnist who writes frequently on immigration and the experiences of Hispanics in the United States, will be online at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday to discuss the compromise immigration plan as the legislation begins moving through the U.S. Senate.

Cepeda was born in Chicago to a computer scientist and a secretary, who came from Ecuador and Mexico to join family and work blue-collar jobs in pursuit of a better life. Having spoken only Spanish until she entered kindergarten, Cepeda absorbed English by watching "Sesame Street" and by reading newspapers, of which there were four or five in her home every day.